Means for mixing samples



April 25, 1.939- B. M. HAWES 2,155,596

MEANS FOR MIXING SAMPLES Filed June 2l, 1938 w Y Q @A l mi l\ 11' N N l v a 'li' x u l T- l v Q /R .....nlllly Six v -wuc/Yvbo/L .5. M/vla wes M i 'N5 k Patented Apr. 25, 1939 `UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE; y g

MEANs Foa MIXING 'sAiinLEs` I' ""Ben'M.l Hawes, Santa Cruz,v Calif. Application Jnezr'iees, serial No. 215,053 f. f

4 claims?" (ci. 259-54) This invention relates to mixing devicesand particularly to means for mixing :relatively small samples of dry, pulverized materialssuch as clay,

rock and Portland cement samples, and for agi- 5 tating mixtures of'cement'and other dry pulverized material with water for the purpose of securing a perfect sludge free from lumps.

The general object of the invention is to provide a very simple mechanism for this purpose which has been found, however, to be thoroughly effective and in which the material to be mixed is disposed in a cylindrical container as, for instance, a. bottle or jar, and then rolled for as long a time as necessary, while at the same time the container is tipped longitudinally.

A further object is to provide means whereby the tipping action above referred to may be at relatively long intervals in comparison with the rolling action and may be ofl various degrees of amplitude.

Other objects vwill appear in the course of the following description. rMy invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the testing mixer constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of thevariable throw crank.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section through the rim of the drive wheel on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

One particular embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and

in this embodiment as illustrated, I0 designates a base of any suitable character and II uprights mounted upon the base. The motor, which is designated I2, has its shaft I3 frictionally engaged with the friction wheel I4 in turn having an attached barrel I5 constituting in a sense a friction pinion. This pinion or barrel I5 in turn engages a gear wheel I6 having a barrel or friction pinion I6a in turn frictionally engaging a wheel Il mounted upon a shaft I8.

Pivoted upon the uprights II is a frame composed of the longitudinal members I9 and the transverse members 20. This frame is pivoted upon trunnions 2| disposed in the uprights II.

Mounted within the frame are the longitudinal rollers 22 which extend the length of the frame and bear frictionally against the friction wheel I'I. It is obvious now that the rollers 22 will be constantly turned in one direction when the machine is in operation.

. For the purpose of oscillating the frame composed of the members I9 and 20, I provide a'crank 23 having an adjustable crank pin 25 which is connected by a link '24 to the free end of the roller carrying frame. I do not wish to be limited to 5 anyparticular means for driving this crank, but I have sho-wn 'for this purpose a shaft 26 which carries the crank .and which is provided with a friction wheel 21 in turn driven froma friction wheel 28 mounted upon the shaft I8.' This will 10 drive the. shaft 25 and the crank 23 at a reduced speed relative Vto the speed of shaft I8 and the speed of rotation of'the rollers 22.

In the use of this device, the sample to be treated is placed in a bo-ttle or other cylindrical con- 16 tainer (not shown) whichinturn is placed upon the rollers. The rollers 22 are driven from the wheel .I I and rotate the cylindrical container continuously in one direction. Simultaneously the frame supporting the rollers is oscillated vertical- 20 ly and thus `therbottle or other containeristilted in opposite directions. The rolling motion mixes the sample and the rocking motion of the roller., frame aids the mixing process by building up the sample material rst in one end of the bottle and 25 then in the other, thus preventing any possible segregation of materials in one end of the container. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that thevrlm of wheel I'I, which is preferably transversely convex and rubber-surfaced (see Fig. 5) is disposed, 30 as before stated, in the same plane as the trunnions or pivots for the rocking frame so that the roller frame actually teeters or rocks on the drive wheel Il.

In order to provide for using this apparatus for 35 mixing materials in an open-ended container, some provision must be made to stop or lock the oscillating action at any point, so that the sample can be rolled at an angle but kept from spilling outoftheopen-endedcontainer. Tothisend,1 have 40 illustrated in Fig, 1 the shaft 26 as being formed in two sections with a clutch 29 disposed between these two sections so that that section carrylng the crank disk 23 may be kept from revolving, and for the purpose of holdin-g the crank disk 23 45 at'any desired position to secure a desired angle for the roller supporting frame I9, I have provided a brake 30 which engages a brake drum 3| on the shaft 26. It is to be understood that any means for holding the outer section on shaft 26 from 50 rotation is Within the purview of this invention.

It will be obvious also that by shifting the crank pin 25 inward in the radial slot in disk 23, the tilting motion may be reduced to a so that open-ended containers may be rolled and at 55 the same time oscillated without discharging the contents of the container.

When rolling an open container at a relatively steep angle, provision should be made for preventing the sliding movement of the container on the rollers and when rolling a plurality of containers on the rollers 22, it is desirable to prevent these containers from sliding together at the lower end of the roller frame. To this end, I have provided a longitudinally extending rod 32 attached to the frame I9 and extending from end to end thereof on a level slightly higher than the frame and on this rod may be mounted one or more collars 33, each collar having an arm 34 extending across the top of the rollers. The collar 33 is held in position upon the rod 32 by means of a set screw 35. It will be understood that as many of these collars 33 and arms 34 may be used as desired or necessary in order to keep the containers from sliding through the lower end of a steeply inclined frame l9"or from sliding back and forth in case said frame I9 is oscillated.

This device under actual tests has been found to do a very thorough job of mixing in a relatively few minutes. This device saves time and labor as a sample coming into the laboratory can be placed on a mixer and rolled any length of time while the operator does other work. Ordinarily, sucha sample would have to be rolled on cloth before analysis. Both small and large sample containers can be rolled on` the mixer at the same time, for instance, with rollers 2" apart, it would be possible to' roll a 21/2 diameter bottle as Well asA one of 12" diameter simultaneously.

The device can be also used for mixing powdered drugs and, under these circumstances, the same container would always be used to mix the same materials, thus eliminating the necessity of thoroughly cleaning containers after use and lessening danger of contamination.

It will also be seen that the device is small, compact, light, takes up small space and is easy to move.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts, I do not Wish to be limited thereto, particularly as regards the driving means for the rollers and the means for oscillating the roller supporting frame.

What is claimed is:

1. A mixing device of the character described, including a roller supporting frame, a pair of longitudinally extending rollers mounted thereon and adapted to support a'cylindrical container, a drive Wheel for said rollers disposed in the same plane as the pivotal axis of the frame and upon which drive wheel rollers oscillate, power actuated means for driving the wheel, and power actuated means for securing an oscillation of the frame in a vertical plane.

2. A mixing device, including a frame mounted for oscillation in a vertical plane, a pair of longitudinally extending rollers mounted upon the frame and adapted to support a cylindrical container, means for rotating said rollers, including a friction wheel engaging both of said rollers and disposed in the same plane as the pivotal center of the frame whereby the rollers will oscillate on said friction wheel, a motor, a train of gears between the motor and said friction wheel, a crank operatively connected to said frame to oscillate it, and means operatively connected to the motor and driven thereby for rotating said crank.

3. A mixing device of the character described, including a roller supporting frame mounted for tilting movement in a vertical plane, a pair of longitudinally extending rollers mounted thereon and adapted to support a cylindrical container, a drive wheel forr said rollers having its rim disposed in the same plane as the pivotal axis of the frame and upon which drive wheel the rollers may oscillate, power actuated means for drivingthe wheel, and means for holding the roller supporting frame at any desired angle to the horizontal.

4. A mixing device, including a frame pivotally mounted for oscillation in a vertical plane, a pair of longitudinally Yextending rollers mounted upon the frame and adapted to support a cylindrical container, means for rotating said rollers, including a friction wheel engaging both of said rollers and having its rim disposed in the same plane as the pivotal center of the frame whereby the rollers will oscillate on said friction wheel, a shaft upon which the friction wheel is mounted, the shaft being formed in two sections, a clutch connection between said sections of the shaft, a crank mounted upon the outer section of the shaft remote from the friction wheel, means voperatively connecting the crank to the oscillatable frame, and means for holding the outer section of the shaft from rotation when the clutch between the two sections is disengaged. Y

BEN M. HAWES. 

